The Third Chimpanzee - by Jared M Diamond (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Wonderful....Jared Diamond conducts his fascinating study of our behavior and origins with a naturalist's eye and a philosopher's cunning." --Diane Ackerman, author of A Natural History of the Senses

In this fascinating, provocative, passionate, funny, endlessly entertaining work, renowned Pulitzer Prize-winning author and scientist Jared Diamond, author of Gun, Germs, and Steel, explores how the extraordinary human animal, in a remarkably short time, developed the capacity to rule the world . . . and the means to irrevocably destroy it.

We human beings share 98 percent of our genes with chimpanzees. Yet humans are the dominant species on the planet--having founded civilizations and religions, developed intricate and diverse forms of communication, learned science, built cities, and created breathtaking works of art--while chimps remain animals concerned primarily with the basic necessities of survival. What is it about that two percent difference in DNA that has created such a divergence between evolutionary cousins?

The Third Chimpanzee is a tour de force, an iconoclastic, compelling, sometimes alarming look at the unique and marvelous creature that is the human animal.

From the Back Cover

We human beings share 98 percent of our genes with chimpanzees. Yet humans are the dominant species on the planet -- having founded civilizations and religions, developed intricate and diverse forms of communication, learned science, built cities, and created breathtaking works of art -- while chimps remain animals concerned primarily with the basic necessities of survival. What is it about that two percent difference in DNA that has created such a divergence between evolutionary cousins? In this fascinating, provocative, passionate, funny, endlessly entertaining work, renowned Pulitzer Prize-winning author and scientist Jared Diamond explores how the extraordinary human animal, in a remarkably short time, developed the capacity to rule the world . . . and the means to irrevocably destroy it.

Review Quotes

"Written with great wit and a pleasure to read. . . . The book's provocative style forces one to reflect thoroughly on the puzzle of human evolution." -- New York Times Book Review

"Wonderful. . . . Jared Diamond conducts his fascinating study of our behavior and origins with a naturalist's eye and a philosopher's cunning." -- Diane Ackerman, author of A Natural History of the Senses

"Plenty of provocative ideas. . . . Diamond is as sharp as his name." -- Kirkus Reviews

"The Third Chimpanzee will endure." -- Edward O. Wilson, Harvard University

"Everyone will enjoy reading this brilliant book. It helps us understand what it means to be human." -- Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University, author of The Population Bomb

"This informative, most fascinating, and very readable book is highly recommended for all libraries." -- Library Journal